How To Run With Power | Use Your Running Watch Like A Pro

In a recent video on running power it sparked a lot of interest and questions from you guys. In this video Mark takes a deeper look into running power and how you can further implement running power to your own performance.
In association with Polar.
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Recently on GTN, Heather and Mark delved into running with power. We went into some depth to explain what it is and also how it works in the first place. And this seemed to spark a lot of interest from you guys.
So, today we've teamed up with our channel partner, Polar, as we help you to understand how you can also use power within your own running.
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Watch more on GTN...
📹 Running With Power - Has Run Training & Racing Changed Forever? 👉 gtn.io/RunPower
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[@gtn]

Do you use running power whilst training? Leave us a comment!

[@Prince-ir9qg]

Yes I do!

[@PoetWithPace]

No, as i understand it is only available on a Polar watch, which i don't have!

[@Jett125]

Not yet. Think it could be good but more to the point... NICE TAN 😉

[@JeffTBell]

Yes, Stryd. Paired with Garmin FR935. Works well, my impression is that it is not quite as precise as cycling power. But it is helpful in pacing.

[@janbass93]

Yes, but I'm currently using Stryd on my Vantage V. I've found that it fixes the Vantage V gps inaccuracy completely and makes all the data reliable. Putting it simple, no gps precision, no power accuracy for the Vantage.

[@reaperc]

Dude ran a half marathon at 3:25 per km. That's incredible

[@keomo]

I had the same reaction! Gotta use this as fuel to train well ;)

[@MangoTheRetriever]

great job on the half-marathon! You are crazy fast!! thanks for the video!

[@benwhitbeck5267]

Great job on your half marathon Mark! I’m waiting for my Polar Vantage V that I won on your show. Until it arrives I will be running by pace and feel. Love the show

[@Prince-ir9qg]

Hi GTN! I watched almost all your videos and now I'm a strong and healthy traiathlete thanks for sharing your knowledge to us

[@gtn]

Thanks 🙌

[@padeksewenejt1032]

1h:12m ??? Maaaan. You rock!

[@christoph_wattever]

Congrats on the awesome half marathon!!

[@duplooygareth]

So... I'm glad this video was made, I'm very interested in running power. However, using my sport science super powers (aka being a nerd) I've found very limited evidence to suggest that power is accurate. Most papers on running power and running power metered conclude that, at the moment the technology and algorithms aren't good enough to train on running power alone and suggest that currently running power is just as accurate as using HR. Thoughts?

[@MrDamonLeBeouf]

being someone that has purchased a stryd power meter because im a techy nerd, ive come to the conclusion that the equipment isnt there yet. this meter wont even get my pace right half the time on a treadmill. i can run one day at a known speed / pace on the treadmill display and the stryd will report differences day to day as much as :15 difference. add to that there is drift when im running intervals... run a slow interval, run a fast one, come back down and run a slow interval and the stryd will not display the same pace as before. ADD TO THAT that ive watched the power spike and dip all over the place on very steady state runs (flat ground) outside as well as on the treadmill. no, the tech isnt there yet. i love the idea of it because it makes a lot of sense, but they need to make a lot of strides (pun intended) in the tech before i think its reliable.

[@ultraadvisor2479]

Amazing HM pace. And the Norseman too!

[@trbeyond]

I have been hesitant to try running with power since running is so much more affected by heat than the bike. We just can’t cool ourselves as well. So if you set your run power zones but it is hot or humid, you probably won’t be able to hit those zones correctly - especially long intervals. Has this been an issue for you? Do you have to retest frequently depending on weather?

[@ThePinoSilver]

Having a garmin 645 with power calculation. I miss how to calculate the 5 power zones that the app makes available. Is there a test? How to distribute the percentages of watts for the 5 zones? Thanks Pino

[@jonathanzappala]

It makes sense if you think about it. When we run we can use all our power, the way we were designed to. On a bike we can only use the power in the way the machine (bike) will accept it, so it will be less. Like how cycling vo2 max is lower than running vo2 max.

My cycling vo2Max I in fact higher than my running.

[@DigiKunt]

I'll stick to running by FEEL

[@ryudatuba]

Sounds really interesting. One question I've always had with biking (and now with running) is how this relates to heart rate training. Do you find that when you're in these zones, it lines up fairly well with your heart rate zones? Meaning, when you're on a steady run in Z2 for power, is your HR also in your Z2 as it relates to lactate threshold? Regardless, I'm excited for more metrics to dive into and it's something I'm considering adding to my training.

[@markthrelfall3577]

lastofthesulmas yes, definitely. It just takes a little learning, but it should line up perfectly accurate with heart rate

[@Vidushaka68]

Incredible time Mark 🤟🏼🤩 Been using Stryd for 5 months & love the metrics which vastly help with training & pace etc. love the Channel 😎 you guys Rock 🤗

[@gtn]

Thanks 🙌

[@JanneNordman]

I power my runs by listening my favourite power songs like Edge of Glory or Eye Of the Tiger :D - Have you seen this inspirational running video? -> running is anything else than boring

[@leeedwards3783]

Hi. Thanks for the awesome videos and site. I have subscribed. I have recently started running at the beginning of the year and I ended up buying the polar vantage v watch and started running with heart rate based on what polar thinks my zones are when putting in max heart rate and rest. Will the watch actually create zones for me and tell me zones to run in during a phased session? I hope that makes sense. Thank you

[@NeoVdV]

Hello, I just turned 60, 3months ago. I was never into running and only jogged a few times. When looking at my weight and feeling the fatigue of even small efforts I Kew it was hight time to change. I started, without any method, to do some jogging.(99% on treadmill as its too cold for me here to go out) Just run as far as I could and then walk. After about 1month I had to stop for about 10days as I had bad groin pain. But In 3month time I got to a 10K. That was about 3weeks ago. I only did 2 more 5K run and then had to stop again because of soreness. Since I read and watched a lot of info about training and running. Due to the info I also decided to change into minimalistic barefoot shoes. Thereby I also take the opportunity to restart my running with barefoot shoes. (Didn't started yet) Now I got confused or hesitant about what method to follow. Being I will have to start as a 60y young overweight person, running with minimalistic footwear, what would be best ? I really like the Chi-running approach with more natural movement, less fatigue, less stress, etc. But there the focus, evidence the form, is cadence. Then there is the heatrate zones and Zone 2 training, and you have the MAF training, and then training based on power. What would be best in my situation ?? My goal is certainly not to become a fast marathon runner. But I would like to become a relative , for me personally, good trail runner and if possible do a ultrarun. I prefere trail running but due to the fact that I live in a mostly wet and cold area and dislike cold weather really really much, I'm forced to run a lot indoors on a treadmill. (I bought one only 3months ago)

[@kevinlavery6194]

I think the biggest benefit of a power meter is instant feedback as opposed to your HR lagging behind. This is easy to monitor on a bike with a head unit. However, I can't imagine constantly looking at my watch to check my power. Especially during harder intervals. Has this been a problem for you Mark? What was your experience with having to look at your watch to see the power numbers?

[@markthrelfall3577]

I’ll be honest, I’ve got very used to checking my pace during sessions anyway. So it hasn’t been that hard at all. I agree though, maybe not as easy as when you’re on the bike, but still pretty straight forward

[@spikerboy81]

I use 65-80% zone 1, 80-90% zone 2, 90-100% zone 3, 100-115% zone 4, & 115-130% zone 5.

[@strengththenics8495]

In which watch we get the power meter features?

[@djlemma]

1:12???? Goodness gracious.

[@buksi771]

Hey everyone :) I'm a beginner runner (I've started just July last year). I've done a half marathon in April with 2h 25min and I was happy about it cuz I prepared without coach or gps watch with heart rate monitor :D I want to run the same half marathon event in 2020 as well but with a better time obviously :D Now I have the Polar Vantage V to help my training but I cannot decide in which direction should I go....Train with running power or train with low heart rate? I've read many articles about the benefits of low heart rate training but training with power looks beneficial as well....Anyone who can give me some advice which should be in my main focus: power or low heart rate? Thanks a lot :)

[@minidini10]

I'm trying to understand running with power by comparing to cycling with power. A cycling 20 min ftp test gives you a power you can hold for 1 hour and training zones. A running 6 min map test gives you training zones only? Why is running with power such a different time scale? Shouldn't the training zones and power numbers be fairly close to each other (except for the slight rise in running because it uses the entire body)?

[@strengththenics8495]

Can power show in Garmin watch?

[@jowylie5432]

Are we going to get a video on your Comrades Marathon, Heather?

[@markthrelfall3577]

Stay tuned for the show this week :)

[@user-kt4oj5eg9g]

good job, Mark! But I cant understand how can i belive the power meter that based on a gps-data, but gps in vantage v is not very accurate and pace have more fluctations than in v800, for example. Thats's why and power plot is not consistent your real efforts

[@ROCKSWOT]

Anyone have experience, can one use running power to measure power from jumping straight up? Would love to incorporate that into those explosive sessions. Thanks! :) #Polar #PolarVantageV #RunningPower #Training #Sports #PolarRunning

[@runnerfive972]

call me skeptical, has GTN just become a subtle advertising platform. I would say yes, you would say no . . .probably

[@gtn]

Hey Runner Five. We are very lucky to work with the partners we do, we've worked with them for a long time and we'd never mislead you on our videos. For this particular video we worked with Polar - there is a paid promotion burn in at the start of the video and we have also included it in the description 🙂

[@iberiksoderblom]

Great 1/2-marathon ! But I dont buy, how awesome running on power is. HR is a much more precise tool, that also automatically incoorporates factors like fatique, illness and overtraining. Using only power, overtraining and injury is a latent danger.

[@markthrelfall3577]

Ib Erik Söderblom it’s not meant as a replacement - as I explain in the video. It’s is another metric to be used in conjunction with the others. In exactly the same way we do on the bike

[@PoetWithPace]

Sorry if this sounds controversial, but real pros run on feel not any sports watch, surely?

[@markthrelfall3577]

Of course, they're far more in tune with their body and pace than most, given how much training they do. However, you'll be hard pushed to find a pro in the long distance scene that races without a watch. They're still so important to many of them

[@PoetWithPace]

@@markthrelfall3577 very true Mark. I have a watch also, but don't use to dictate my training, more to just record what i have done. There is a story of a group of top Kenyan athletes given some watches by a leading brand and when the watch rep returned a few months later, the watches were still in their boxes.

[@ArneStabel]

your music is too loud

[@aitoraltuna]

The zones don't make any sense

[@markthrelfall3577]

Aitor Altuna I’m intrigued to hear what doesn’t make sense about them? Do let me know, and I’ll try to help

[@aitoraltuna]

@@markthrelfall3577 if you are basing zones on MAP, you couldn't stay above MAP for more than 6' in general (that's why the 6' test). The zones 1,2 and 3 you mentioned are similar to the norwegian zones (in percentages), if they were truly based on MAP. Basically anything over that would be in anaerobic zones. Saying that you stayed around 100% of MAP for the half marathon is false, because the MAP wasn't set correctly, or because what you call MAP is not that, but it's the anaerobic threshold/LT2. Thanks for the video though! Just wanted to share so listeners are not confused with terminology

[@markthrelfall3577]

Aitor Altuna I think you’re possibly correct. Ignore my statement about the half marathon, but everything else stands 🤙

[@aitoraltuna]

@@markthrelfall3577 thanks for the reply, Mark! But I still think that the description of the effort in each specific zone is not correct. It looks like what you are referring to is the usually used 5 zone model in cycling and cycling power training to describe how each zone feels. F.e. you mention that zone 4 is for threshold intervals etc. (which in normal cycling power zones is) but if those percentages are based on MAP it should be intervals above VO2max. which would be zone 6 in the 7 zone trainingpeaks/coggan model. But the percentages you give below MAP relate quite well to the norwegian 3 zone model (and Polar is norwegian), so I'm not sure exactly what zone model is the one you mention, as usually the abobe MAP zones are not defined (usually, some models do). It's a pitty to put out a good video like this one but having those unclear (and possibly wrong) things. Besides that, good job!

[@ravenmonserata6130]

first!! edit: i mean second.